Chapter 1.4, Problem 1HYEW

Fruit flies, bacteria from hot springs, sea jellies, Gila monsters, burdock burrs—why study these obscure forms of life? In fact, research on these organisms, and a host of others, has improved people's lives Fruit flies, for example, have been used for over 100 years to study how genes influence traits. Their genes are similar enough to ours that many human genetic diseases can be investigated to some extent in these flies—a pair of which can produce several hundred genetically identical offspring in a few weeks, An obscure bacterium from a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park is the source of a protein crucial to a process that rapidly copies DNA. Thanks to this discovery, the amount of DNA in a few skin cells left at a crime scene can now generate a sample large enough to be compared to the DNA of a suspect. A fluorescent green protein discovered in a sea jelly can be attached to a gene, protein, or virus, making it glow and allowing researchers to monitor its activity. A protein found in the Gila monster’s venomous saliva was approved in 200S as a drug to help diabetics maintain more constant blood sugar levels. And what did microscopic examination of a burr lead to? The inspiration for Velcro, Some people criticize governments for funding research into topics that seem obscure, like what makes a jellyfish glow. But no one can predict where such studies will lead; even lines of research that appear to be dead ends can provide unexpected and valuable insights.

Why Scientists Study Obscure Organisms?